Multiple phonograph-machine.



No. 883,97LL; PATENTED'APR. 7, 1908.

, A J. ROBVEB..

MULTIPLB'PHONOGRAPH MAGHINE.

- APPLIUATION FILED MAY 29, 1907.

- WHA/5555s;

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1'.

n PATENTBD APR. 7, 1908. l J. ROBVER. MULTIPLE PHO'NOGRAPH MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29 1907 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.:

"NVENTOR.

W/T/VESSES.-

' A TTORNEY.

No. 888,871. PATBNTBD APR. 7, 1808.

J.. 808788. MULTIPLE 8808088888 l MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY mmmmmm.

A TToR/VE Y.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED s'rATEs PATENT onEroE.

JULIUs aoEvER, or NEW YORK, N. AsslcNoR To NATIONAL PATENT COMPANY, 'or'NEW YORK, N. Y., A-ooRroaATIoN or NEW YORK.

MULTIPLE rnoNoanArn-monmn.'

Specication of Letters Patent..

Patented 13h17, 190s.

To all whom it may concern: Y y Y 1 Be it known that I, JULrUs RoEvER,of the city of New York, county of Kings, and State.

- 1.5 and in which mechanism is used for carryin the re roducer along-ina direction. aralle with t e record which is being playe upon. Myinvention relates more es eeially' to machines of this class which t ereproducer has a constantrelation tothe record, but the stylus is liftedout of engagement with the record or dropped to engagement, as required.'Heretofo're 1n machines of this character there has been considerablecomplexity in the mechanism for actuating the machine for movin thereproducer along in a direction parallev with the' record, andespecially in the meansfor lifting'the-st lus out of engagement with.the record. and rop ingv it back to smplace. In some-cases sprin p amesof various kinds havebeen used to old'the drivin mechanism-,in pro errelation with the recor to 4be driven, an -1 a complicated system oflevers has been-used vto lift. and drop 'the astylus..

' .This particularinvention is especially intended to overcome .some ofthe difficultieswbove named, and' roducea simple mechan ical mechanismfor riving the record, for per# 40. mitting the driving mechanism to beplaced in and out of engagement with the record to be driven, andforactuating the stylus, that is tera-isc and lower it as desired.

. My invention also rovides'or automatically disen aging ythe drivingmechanism of a record' attghe same time the st lus is lifted; Ialsoprovide a simple means or dropping the stylus at the exact ointrequired inv any record', so that when ,1t is dro. ped the' playing l80- hegins' immediately a ter' the record is started sufficientlytogmake the pitch'and' time correct. Y

Withfthese ends in view my invention con- B.phonographconstructiomwhichwill habere-4 owing is a full,

ing means, an any suitable motor or source 'of power. It sists olfcertain improvements inmultiple ,wi-l

inafter described and the novel features claimed Reference is to be hadto the'accompanying drawings formin a part of this specification, inwhich siml ar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in allthe views. Figure 1 is a plan view of the structure embodymgmylinvention. Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, andshowing also a 'segment 'of the record wheelwith a -65 series of recordsthereon.- Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section partly in elevation of myirnproved structure, showing a )art of the rec ord wheel, and in properre ationgt-hereto, and with the driving mechanism out of engagernentwith the record to be driven. Fig.

-4 is a similar view to Fig. 3, but with the driving parts inengagement, and Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 5-5'of Fig. 4.

In the `drawings I have shown iny invention suppor-tedon a post 10,which carries a horizontal frame extending above the to of the recordwheel, to be resently referre to, said frame comprisin t e cross bars11, the vertical arms 12, an the tie rods 13, which', go extendvlongitudinally, and one of which is preferablysquaredas shown at I3, toprovide fornonveniently attachin -oertain parts to be hereinafterdescribed. his frame eX- tends horizontally over the top ofthe recordwheel 14, which, sofar as this particular invention is concerned, can beof any approved character, and v whichV 'carries a perlpheral series ofindividually rotatable records 15 of the usual kind, these having disks16 at- 90 tached, by which they can be numbered and identified. Myinvention relates, however, wholly to the matter carried bythe frameabove referred to and described below. This frame Vcarries drivingmechanism which en- 'gages a disk- 17 on the spindle of each reco'rd 15,as thelatter is bbrought to place; and as shown the disk 17 is .drivenby the friction -Wheel 18, which is carried by a lieXible shaft comrising the sections 19, 2() and 21. The 100 section 19 has a socket inone end to receive the spiral section 2Q, which con les onto the section21, and this' is mounte in suitable bearings 22 intwo of the cross-bars11. The flexible driving shaft just described. is driven by a ulley 23',or equivalent'driv- (i) the pulley can connect with be observed. that todisengage the driv' the friction wheel 18 from the disk 17, and in vthisway I obviate the necessity of using spring frames and other structuressuch as i have been heretofore used.

To provide for lifting the free end of the flexible shaft, the section19 extends through the free end of the swinging arm 24 and this ispivoted as shown at 25 on the rigid arm 26 of the horizontal frame abovereferred to. To provide for the necessary freedom of movement,i the holethrough the arm 24 is rather large, and the shaft 19 is centered and journaled between the anti-friction rollers 27 which are pivoted in thearm 24. The frame carries a reproducer carriage 28, which has a movementlongitudinal of the frame and par allel with the several records 15, andthe carriage can be mounted in any convenient way. As shown it has ears29 sliding on a guide rod 30, and an ear 31 on the under side sliding ona guide rod 32, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The carriage supports a reproducer 33, which can be of any approved kind, having the usual toppart 34 to connect with a horn. T he reprodueer. is stationary withrelation to the carriage 28, and it supports a tilting lever 35, whichhas a stylus 36 to connect with the record, and which is carried by aplate 43, to be presently referred to. The carriage 28 is moved backwardand forward from a screw 37, which ,has the regulation thread to movethe carriage forward, and a coarse cross thread 38 to effect aquickreturn of the carrlage. This arrangement 1s not claimed as new. Thescrew connects with the driving shaft by gears 37a and 37'), and the'thread of the screw engages a blade 39, the shank of which is held inthe su port 40, which is secured to a post 41 on t e carriage 28, and asthe blade follows the thread of the screw the 'carriage is moved forwardor backward, as

the case maybe. When the blade reaches the end of the screw it is guidedinto engagement with the necessary thread by-'the cam mechanism 42, andthis is Anot here claimed. The reproducer stylus is carried by a dropever or plate 43, which is pivoted to the carl ria e 28 at one end asshown at 44 in Fig. 2, an at its free end the plate has an upwardlyextending flange 45, to which is secured an arm 46, which rides on thethin upper edge of the plate 47, by which the rise and fall of the plate43 is regulated. Obviously the plate 43 can be'given any desiredconfiguration, so lon asits free end has an engagee ment with t e plate47. The plate 47 has a vertical movement on the squared part 13EL of theframe, movement the yplate has slots 48 which receive screws 49, andthese enter the part 13l just referred to. The plate 47 is narrower atthe middle than at the ends,` as shown at 50 in Figs. 3 and 4, and toprovide for raising and lowering the plate it has cams 51 near the ends,which engage the rollers 52 on the arms 5 3, and these extend downward`from the top plate 54, which slides longitudinally on the part 13a. Themovement of the top plate is limited by screws 56 which extend throughslots 55 in the top plate as shown in Fig. l. 0n the top plate,preferably near the ends, are posts 57 which receive the abutment rods58, which have upturned ends 59 to engage the striking arm hereinafterreferred to, and the rods 58 can be adjusted and are 'held in place bythe binding screws 60. The bent ends 59 of the rods 58 are struck by thestriking arm 61, which is carried by the post 62 on the carriage 28. Itwill be seen that by this action the plate 54 is in one instance movedto the right, in which case the rollers 52 striking the cam 51, lift theplate 47, and the free end of the plate 43, so as to bring the stylus 36out of engagement with the record. This occurs when a record has beentraversed and a tune has been played.c When, however, the carriage 28reaches the end of its return stroke, the arm61 strikes the opposite orleft hand rod 58, the plate 54 moves in the opposite direction, and theplate 47 and the late -43 are dropped so as to bring the stylhs intoengagement with a record. lt is desirable to have the driving mechanismof the record disengaged at the same time that the stylus is raised fromthe record, and to this end a cam 63 in the shape of a bent rod, issecured to the post 64 by means of the binding screw 65, the said postbeing on the raised end 54a of the plate 54. This bent rod 63 isarranged to extend underneath the arm 24, and so just asthe stylus islifted, in the manner already described, the arm 24 is also raised, andthe friction wheel 28 lifted out of engagement with the disk 17.

In order that the stylus may drop in the right place and engage therecord after the latter has started, that the stylus will not drag alongthe record, l use a gage which as shown is in the form of a U shapedclip 66, which is fastened to the outer side of the part 13a of theframe by screws 67, and the clip extends beneath the part 13'a and thenupward parallel with the plate 47. The inner side of the clip isinclined as at 68, and when the plate 47 drops so as to drop the stylusinto engagement with a record, the arm 46 strikes the inclined part 68,and is thereb guided so as'to push the carriage 28 slightfy and bringthe stylus into the correct place. The ga e- 66'is longitudinallyadjustable in order t sult may b e best attained, and an easy means ofadjustment is shownin Fig. 3 in dotted lines, in which the gage has alongitudinal slot 69. to receive the screws 67. Obviously the gage canbe differently made, and the essential thing is simply to have theinclined surface'engage' the art 46 and regulate the dropping posltionof) the stylus 36.

at the above reis started well, the stylus is dro esami From theforegoing description' it `'will -be seen that I have Shown a verypractical and simple means of accomplishingthe results at firstreferredto, thatzis to say, the dropping vof the plate 47 permitsthe'frictionpwheel 18 record has been traversed, the driving parts areautomatically disengaged.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecureby Letters Patentz- 1.` In a machine records thereon, of aflexible shaft connected with a source of power and having an operativeconnection with each record, and means 4for breaking the drivingconnection between the shaft and the record by exing the said flexibleshaft.

2; A machine of the kind described, having a recordwheel carrying aseries of records, a reproducer arranged to travel opposite a record, aflexible driving shaft yhaving an operative connection with the records,and automatic means for moving tli'e shaft and breakin the drivingconnection by the movement o the reproducer.

I '3. The combination with the record wheel and the records thereon, ofa flexible driving shaft operatively connected with the records to drivethem, a. reproducer arranged to travel opposite a record, and a cammechanism actuated by the movement of the reproducer' to move theflexible shaft and break the driving connection. f

' 4. Thecombination with the record Wheel and the records thereon, of aflexible driving shaft opberatively connected with the records,

a mova le arm supporting the free end of the shaft, a reproducermoving)op osite the record, and means actuated breaking the drivingcon-v nection. V

5. The combination with thel record wheel ,flexible shaft having anoperative connection with the driving disk, a re roducermovable oppositea record and having a st lus ,-mova e in and outwith relation to terecord,

Vmeans for lifting the stylus after it traverses of thekmd described,the. combination with the record wheel and the y t e movement of thereproducer to move the aforesaid arm y and shaft, thereby l a record,and means acting 1n conJunctlon with the stylus lifting mechanism todisengage the driving shaft from a record disk.l

7. Amachine' of the kind described, comprising a series of records,driving` mechanism su ported opposite the lrecords p and adapte tooperatively connect with each record, a reproducer having a movablestylus, said reproducer moving opposite a record, and-means actuated byt e movement of the reproducer to engage and disengage the stylus withthe record and at the same y time en age or disengage the drivingconnection wit the record.

8. A machine of the kind described, comprising means for carrying aseries of records opposite a supporting frame, driving means on theframe to engage each record, a reproducer held to slide on the frame,said reproducer having a stylus movable in and out with relation to therecord, a plate movable in and out with relation to the record, saidlate being arranged to lift or drop the styy us, and means for movingthe plate by the movement of the reproducer carriage, said means servingalso to control the driving coiil nection with the record. l

9.A The combination with the movable series of records, o f the reroducei movable opposite each record and iiiaving a stylusmovable in andout with relation to the record, a slide plate arranged to support thestylus, andl cam mechanism operated by the movement 'i of thereproducerto move the slide plate inand-out. i

10. The combinationv with the records'arran edin series, of a reproducercarriage held to s ide opposite the record, a reproduceren the carriagehaving a movable stylus to engage the record, a slide plate movable inand out with relation tothe record, abutments struck by the movement ofthe carriage near the ends Vof its stroke, and operative connections.between the abutments and the slide plate. v

ranged in series, ieach being independently driven, of a Vflexibledrivin lshaft ada ted to drive each record, arepi'o ucer mova le oposite a record and havin a stylus movab e vwith relation to'the recorabutments actuated by the movement of the reproducer `near the ends ofits stroke, means operated move the stylus in and by the abutments toout, and means also o erated fromthe abutments for moving the flexibleshaft and breaking the driving'v connection with a record. f

12, The combination with a record and the carri-age sliding opposite therecord, of a reproducer Ion the carriage,.s'aid reproducen havin astylus movable in'relation to the recor a slide plate movable in and outwith y relation to the record, `said slide plate havin s cam surfaces,`movable abutments operate by the carriage near the ends of its stroke,and an4 o erative connection between .the movable abutments and the camsurfaces for actuating the slide plate.

13. The combination with a record and its -driving disk, of the flexibledriving shaft having a driving connection betweenl itself and the disk,a reproducer carriage movable opposite' the record, a reprodueer on thecarrlage, said reprodueer having a stylus m0v able with relation to therecord, a late slidable parallel with the movement o the oarg riage,means for moving the slidable plate near the ends of the carriagestroke, means actuated by the movement of the slidable 15 plate forengaging or disengaging the stylus with its record, and means alsoactuated by the slidable plate to disengage the driving shaft from itsdisk.

.v JU LIUS ROEVER.

Witnesses:

H. A. WILSON, W. B. HUToHINsoN.

